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The Subscription Racket
Joe Friday and Bill Gannon race against time to catch a conman who has been selling fake magazines to the elderly. Story Act 1 January 17, 1967 Friday and Gannon are working out of Fraud Division in the Bunco Department. Public Information Division has asked that Friday and Gannon appear on a talk show that afternoon. Sargent Brighter who is suppose to go on with them can't make it because he is on a case involving a fake bank examiner. Friday will take his place. Friday and Gannon are next called into Captain Lambert's office and do a coin toss Friday wins so he will have to go on. 1:05 PM Friday and Gannon arrive at the studio and appear on the Jerry Dexter Show. Friday goes on and talks about scams. When they are done with the segment our witness Cliff Tate who works as an editor calls them into the editing room. Mr. Tate tells Friday and Gannon the suspect they are after has conned his wife Marilyn Tate by impersonating a soldier and has sold her 85 subscriptions of fake magazines. They talk about Tarzan and Mr. Tate gives them his address and they drive out to the San Fernando Valley. Act 2 3:15 PM Friday and Gannon drive out to Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley. In Friday's monologue he explains that Mrs. Tate is not the only one who was victimized by our suspect. The day before he went after Marian Ballard and stole $1,800 from her by selling the same fake magazines. Now these con men are operating in the Valley and have found another elderly couple to con. 3:50 PM Friday and Gannon arrive at the Tate's address and Mrs. Tate answers the door. Before they go in Gannon spots an important clue. The Tate's fence has been tagged by the con artist with the date and time of each con. Mrs. Tate describes our suspect and tells Friday and Gannon that there are three suspects. An elderly man in a suit, A young man dressed as a marine holding a Metal of Honor, and a young woman dressed as a nurse. Mrs. Tate describes our suspect as Glenn Procustan and his fiancee Norma Bryant. Friday tells Mrs Tate that the Marines and nurses don't go door to door selling magazines and that she has been swindled. Mrs. Tate hands them the recites and finds out Procustan signed them with his service number. This clue is a direct match to the Ballard case. Gannon tells Mrs. Tate their fence was tagged and needs to be repainted and Friday tells her salesmen write on fences whenever they sell something and it makes it easy pickings for the next joker to con the same house. Mrs Tate finally gives in and hands over the magazines as evidence and tells them she is losing her eyesight and will have to get glasses. Friday gives her his card and they return to headquarters. 4:45 PM Friday and Gannon run Glenn's name he is not in the LAPD database. Friday calls the Pentagon and Gannon calls the clearing house. January 18, 1967 8:40 AM The Pentagon sends Friday a teletype the number is in the database but further searching shows the metal belongs to Glenn's father and Friday realizes that metals must be earned and not won and are only given if you have been wounded, shot, or killed. The metal was given posthumously which means Glenn's father died in Nam. 3:15 PM Captain Lambert calls them into his office. Mrs. Ballard has been hit again and Glenn and Norma have cleaned her out. Thursday January 19, 1967 the day is slow and no tips. Friday and Gannon's appearance on the Dexter Show has did the trick and the phones have been ringing off the hook. The Tates come in and tell Friday and Gannon they are headed to the eye doctor. Before they leave Mr Tate tells them Glenn and Norma cleaned them out and they overdrew their accounts. Gannon gets off the phone the clearing house has called Glenn and Norma are listed but they were fired by their employer our suspect Pete Benson he is the man in the suit that visited the Tates and the Ballards. They also find out Glenn is a fugitive he was jailed in Yuma for stealing a watch and his mugshots are in the FBI database. 12:20 PM Friday sends for the mugshots and they arrive the next day in the mail. 1:15 PM Friday and Gannon call the FBI and find out Glenn is wanted. January 20, 1967 The mugshots arrive they show Glenn Procustan not as a nice marine but as a wanted felon. Paris Island also calls Glenn was given a dishonorable discharge. Act 3 10:20 AM Friday and Gannon set a trap to arrest Benson and his doorbell crew. They call every hotel in the area and tell them to not allow Benson to leave. 11:15 AM While they are waiting they show the mugshots to Mrs. Ballard and Mrs. Tate. High Noon dispatch tells them to call headquarters and Captain Lambert. Pete Benson and his doorbell crew have checked into the hotel so Friday and Gannon drive over there. 12:23 PM Friday and Gannon drive to the Diploma Hotel and talk to the manager. Pete Benson pulls up and he and his crew are arrested by Friday and Gannon. Benson wise cracks and Friday and Gannon attempt to break him. Gannon tells Benson if he does not give them Glenn and Norma's room number they will take him and his crew downtown to Intelligence Division and they will spend all night breaking him. Benson tells Friday and Gannon that Glenn and Norma got into a fight with him in Yuma and they stole his recites. Benson agrees to help them locate Norma and Glenn if they give him a reduced sentence. 3:55 PM Benson finally breaks Glenn and Norma are at Hunter's Lodge in Studio City. 4:41 PM Friday and Gannon arrest Glenn and charge him with theft and soliciting. Glenn tells Friday and Gannon that Benson framed him and he spent 30 days in the clink. Norma comes in and Gannon places her under arrest and reads the Miranda Law. Norma was just pulling the fake nurse scam when she came in. Friday and Gannon read the charges and Glenn shows them the metal. Norma tells them she bounced the check and Glenn scolds her for doing that. Friday tells Glenn that stealing a metal is a felony and Friday and Gannon place him and Norma in cuffs and escort them out. Sentencing Glenn Procustan was found guilty of grand theft and soliciting and sentenced to 10 years in San Quentin Prison also known as Q Prison. Procustan's fiancee Norma Bryant was also charged with grand theft, soliciting, forgery, underage marriage, and larceny. She was sentenced to 10 years in the California Womens Hospital in Corona. Pete Benson the ringleader and his crew were charged with fraudulent soliciting and sentenced to 6 months in prison and fined $500. His crew had their cases dismissed since they only worked for Benson.